---
title: "Madrid to Dubai (MAD → DXB): distance and flight time · Orbit"
description: "Madrid to Dubai is 5,650 km (3,511 mi) great circle, an estimated 7h 31m in the air. The route, what it flies over, and why the short way is not the straight line on a map."
url: https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-dxb
---

MAD → DXB

# Madrid to Dubai: distance, flight time and the route it really takes

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas to Dubai is 5,650 km of great circle — 3,511 mi — and an estimated 7h 31m in the air. It crosses from Europe to Asia.

**Great circle**
5,650 km
3,511 mi

**Estimated in the air**
7h 31m
block time

**Furthest from equator**
40.5°N
at 4% along

**One lap of Earth**
14.1%
of 40,075 km

Of the [292 routes catalogued here](https://orbitflights.app/routes), this is the 116th longest.

The Madrid to Dubai route drawn as a great circle arc on a globe

## What the aircraft actually flies over

From Madrid the path crosses Spain, then 664 km of open water, then Italy, then 523 km of open water, then Greece, then Syria, then Iraq, then Kuwait, then 819 km of open water.

The furthest the great circle gets from the equator is 40.5°N, 4% of the way along.

Flying the line that looks straight on a Mercator map — one constant compass bearing — would cover 5,731 km. That is 81 km further, about 1% more, and roughly 6m of extra flying.

Leaving Madrid the aircraft points east (88°); it arrives into Dubai heading south-east (123°). That is 34° of drift without a single turn — the compass moves because the path is a curve on a sphere, not because the aircraft does.

One economy seat on it is about 800 kg of CO₂e each way, counting non-CO₂ warming.

[MAD–DXB carbon footprint →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-carbon-calculator?from=MAD&to=DXB) [Map this route →](https://orbitflights.app/tools/flight-route-map?r=MAD-DXB)

From

MAD

## Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas

Madrid, Spain · Europe

40.5°N, 3.6°W

[MAD airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/mad) [Flights to Madrid →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/madrid)

To

DXB

## Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates · Asia

25.2°N, 55.4°E

[DXB airport →](https://orbitflights.app/airports/dxb) [Flights to Dubai →](https://orbitflights.app/flights-to/dubai)

## Madrid to Dubai, asked and answered

**How far is Madrid to Dubai?**
Madrid to Dubai (MAD to DXB) is 5,650 km, or 3,511 mi, measured as great circle distance between the two airports.

**How long is the flight from Madrid to Dubai?**
About 7h 31m in the air. That is an estimate from the distance at a typical airliner block speed, plus half an hour for taxi, climb and descent; published schedules vary with winds and routing.

**What route does a Madrid to Dubai flight take?**
The great circle passes over Spain, then 664 km of open water, then Italy, then 523 km of open water, then Greece, then Syria, then Iraq, then Kuwait, then 819 km of open water. It reaches 40.5°N at its furthest from the equator.

## Where these numbers come from

Distances are computed from the two airports’ own coordinates, not looked up from published routes. Times are estimates, not schedules.

[Why the shortest path is a curve →](https://orbitflights.app/blog/great-circle-routes-explained)

## Flown this one?

Orbit logs it in two taps and draws the arc on your own globe, along with every other flight you can remember. Free for your first 15.

[Download now](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qwertybit.orbit)

## Nearby routes

[MAD → JFK Madrid to New York 5,760 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-jfk) [LHR → DXB London to Dubai 5,498 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/lhr-to-dxb) [DXB → SIN Dubai to Singapore 5,846 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/dxb-to-sin) [CDG → DXB Paris to Dubai 5,239 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/cdg-to-dxb) [AMS → DXB Amsterdam to Dubai 5,169 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/ams-to-dxb) [DXB → BKK Dubai to Bangkok 4,903 km](https://orbitflights.app/routes/dxb-to-bkk)

## Further reading

[How many miles do you have to fly around the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/how-many-miles-to-fly-around-the-world) [What is on the exact opposite side of the world?](https://orbitflights.app/blog/opposite-side-of-the-world) [What's actually worth counting in a flight log](https://orbitflights.app/blog/what-is-worth-counting-in-a-flight-log)

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Markdown copy of https://orbitflights.app/routes/mad-to-dxb for language models and agents. Site index: https://orbitflights.app/llms.txt